Gaza: Shouting from Soapox Tops
by JP [jp@slugmag.com]
Issue 251 / November 2009 More from this Issue
Gaza
is not an “anti-“ band. Anti-religion or anti-Mormon, anti-meat or
anti-you, Gaza is none of these. The group is more about things than
against them. Pro-thought, pro-self-interrogation and -exploration—an
important point to make when your latest album has a title more attune
with atheist leanings. He Is Never Coming Back notches Gaza’s belt as
their second release on Black Market Activities (Guy Kozowyk of The Red
Chord’s label) and third overall release. The “he” is John Stockton,
lead vocalist Jon Parkin jokes but then clarifies with a serious note:
“The theme on the record is a loss of patience, and sugar-coating the
religious discussion. I wanted to call it what it is. If it’s
delusional, it’s delusional. To us, it was a tongue-in-cheek rally
cry.”
is not an “anti-“ band. Anti-religion or anti-Mormon, anti-meat or
anti-you, Gaza is none of these. The group is more about things than
against them. Pro-thought, pro-self-interrogation and -exploration—an
important point to make when your latest album has a title more attune
with atheist leanings. He Is Never Coming Back notches Gaza’s belt as
their second release on Black Market Activities (Guy Kozowyk of The Red
Chord’s label) and third overall release. The “he” is John Stockton,
lead vocalist Jon Parkin jokes but then clarifies with a serious note:
“The theme on the record is a loss of patience, and sugar-coating the
religious discussion. I wanted to call it what it is. If it’s
delusional, it’s delusional. To us, it was a tongue-in-cheek rally
cry.”
Fortunately, this is what we’ve come to expect from a
band named after the most consistently violent area in the world (the
Gaza strip in Israel/Palestine for those who slept through world
history). “We went with Gaza for a reason: it’s a religious warzone and
has been. It’s a great example of the extremes of the bad things
religion can bring,” Parkin says. The group has gained national and
international notoriety as a heavy rock band with ideals and many a
moniker attached to their style, but the guys pretty much say what they
think and play whatever they want—including some occasional “softer”
interludes. “It makes records flow a lot. Plus, that’s just who we
are,” guitarist Mike Mason says, which is fitting for a band originally
formed with indie/emo aspirations. “That stuff still shows through to
this day. I’m honestly kinda proud of that,” drummer Casey Hansen says.
“I love being brash to be brash but it can be a lot more powerful if
you can have breaks in something else and then be thrust back into it.”
Parkin continues the explanation, “It is funny to say but it’s
emo-driven music. Emotional: it used to be these sad bands that came
out of the Midwest singing about cornfields and the way the snow looked
in December—it was a different thing,” he says, separating the original
term from the pop movement it became. “It meant emotional, not
cry-baby,” Parkin says.
band named after the most consistently violent area in the world (the
Gaza strip in Israel/Palestine for those who slept through world
history). “We went with Gaza for a reason: it’s a religious warzone and
has been. It’s a great example of the extremes of the bad things
religion can bring,” Parkin says. The group has gained national and
international notoriety as a heavy rock band with ideals and many a
moniker attached to their style, but the guys pretty much say what they
think and play whatever they want—including some occasional “softer”
interludes. “It makes records flow a lot. Plus, that’s just who we
are,” guitarist Mike Mason says, which is fitting for a band originally
formed with indie/emo aspirations. “That stuff still shows through to
this day. I’m honestly kinda proud of that,” drummer Casey Hansen says.
“I love being brash to be brash but it can be a lot more powerful if
you can have breaks in something else and then be thrust back into it.”
Parkin continues the explanation, “It is funny to say but it’s
emo-driven music. Emotional: it used to be these sad bands that came
out of the Midwest singing about cornfields and the way the snow looked
in December—it was a different thing,” he says, separating the original
term from the pop movement it became. “It meant emotional, not
cry-baby,” Parkin says.
Gaza has always been a unique facet in
the Utah scene, and more well-known outside of the state. They enjoy
playing here, but receive better crowd response in places like Denver,
Philly, Indianapolis and Boise, of all places. “We’ve never expected to
draw people here,” Hansen says. “I think we have a reputation
nationally that’s bigger than our local reputation. Most venues won’t
have heavy music, kids won’t come and it’s embarrassing even to try.”
Hansen looks pained as he continues, “You bust your butt and nobody
comes. I [booked] a couple of shows and I can’t do it anymore.” That
still doesn’t change the guys’ attitude about representing their
hometown (find my all-time favorite Gaza Jazz-logo shirt online for
confirmation—still some of the best local band merch available). “We’ve
made such an attempt to take and show what Utah has to do on a national
level. It’s all been local, every bit of it other than mastering,”
Parkin says. Andy Patterson has engineered all their releases in Gaza’s
hometown of Salt Lake City, and the band is proud of that fact.
the Utah scene, and more well-known outside of the state. They enjoy
playing here, but receive better crowd response in places like Denver,
Philly, Indianapolis and Boise, of all places. “We’ve never expected to
draw people here,” Hansen says. “I think we have a reputation
nationally that’s bigger than our local reputation. Most venues won’t
have heavy music, kids won’t come and it’s embarrassing even to try.”
Hansen looks pained as he continues, “You bust your butt and nobody
comes. I [booked] a couple of shows and I can’t do it anymore.” That
still doesn’t change the guys’ attitude about representing their
hometown (find my all-time favorite Gaza Jazz-logo shirt online for
confirmation—still some of the best local band merch available). “We’ve
made such an attempt to take and show what Utah has to do on a national
level. It’s all been local, every bit of it other than mastering,”
Parkin says. Andy Patterson has engineered all their releases in Gaza’s
hometown of Salt Lake City, and the band is proud of that fact.
Gaza isn’t all God-hating, abrasive, balls-to-your-brother’s-chin
music all the time—the gents are really well humored. Spend over an
hour with the group and they’ll start discussing what kind of trees
they would be, (bassist Tino Lucero: “a brown one,” and Jon, a rare and
illegal Teak), or alternate album titles they might use one day
(Stretch Marks on Our Asses ‘Cuz We Go So Fast being one). They also
joke about polka music and there’s a few good-natured jests about
orgasms—apparently one should yell the word ‘travesty” when reaching
one’s pinnacle (there’s a good long story about a moment in a tour van
backseat at three in the morning with Parkin, an unfortunately curious
Hansen, tube socks and travesty—but it’s a bit too risqué for a family
publication like SLUG). There is also talk of a European tour on the
horizon, a US tour and a return to their now regular festival slot at
Dudefest in Indianapolis next year.
music all the time—the gents are really well humored. Spend over an
hour with the group and they’ll start discussing what kind of trees
they would be, (bassist Tino Lucero: “a brown one,” and Jon, a rare and
illegal Teak), or alternate album titles they might use one day
(Stretch Marks on Our Asses ‘Cuz We Go So Fast being one). They also
joke about polka music and there’s a few good-natured jests about
orgasms—apparently one should yell the word ‘travesty” when reaching
one’s pinnacle (there’s a good long story about a moment in a tour van
backseat at three in the morning with Parkin, an unfortunately curious
Hansen, tube socks and travesty—but it’s a bit too risqué for a family
publication like SLUG). There is also talk of a European tour on the
horizon, a US tour and a return to their now regular festival slot at
Dudefest in Indianapolis next year.
After jokingly apologizing
for the worst interview ever—which it definitely wasn’t—Parkin
unleashes another pearl, as he does quite frequently, starting with a
question about their album: “Can we have a discussion on a fair plane?
He Is Never Coming Back is enough of a statement growing up here in
this religious town—being ‘blasphemous,’ it feels good to say it,”
Parkin says, then clarifies by saying, “This isn’t an anti-Mormon
thing. Call it a soapbox, or whatever, but we worked our way up on top
of the soapbox so why not shout from it?”
for the worst interview ever—which it definitely wasn’t—Parkin
unleashes another pearl, as he does quite frequently, starting with a
question about their album: “Can we have a discussion on a fair plane?
He Is Never Coming Back is enough of a statement growing up here in
this religious town—being ‘blasphemous,’ it feels good to say it,”
Parkin says, then clarifies by saying, “This isn’t an anti-Mormon
thing. Call it a soapbox, or whatever, but we worked our way up on top
of the soapbox so why not shout from it?”
He Is Never Coming Back
will be released on Black Market Activities in early Nov. If you
haven’t seen Gaza live, don’t miss their CD release show Nov. 7 at the
Taylorsville Graywhale or when they play with Earthless and Baroness on
Nov. 30 at Club Vegas.
SLUG article location
No comments:
Post a Comment